Friday, August 08, 2014

[031] ‘MTSU On the Record’ takes a peek at a Civil War diary

MURFREESBORO — A
rare chronicle of life as a Rebel soldier is the focus of the next edition of
the “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Shirley Farris Jones,
editor of “Letters to Mary: The Civil War Diary of Dr. John Kennerly Farris,”
will air from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4, and from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Sunday,
Aug. 10, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org).

Dr. Farris, a Hillsboro, Tennessee, native, was a hospital
steward and assistant surgeon in Company I of the 41st Tennessee
infantry. He wrote letters to his wife, Mary, and saved them as small diaries
until he could find a way to mail them or send them home to Coffee County by
messenger.

The letters were full of tales of battles, medical
treatments, camp food and other aspects of fighting for the Confederacy.
Shirley Farris Jones published the book 20 years ago, but the second printing
includes additional material, including photos and illustrations.

“I came to know this man and to appreciate the quality of
his character, the type of man he was, his dedication, his love for his family,
his wife, his little boy,” Jones said. “He was a very honorable man.”